Railway-track structure.



No. 729,091. PATENTED MAY 26, 1903.

G. H. PARMELEEP RAILWAY TRACK STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 13, 1902.

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UNiTE STATES Patented May 26, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. PARHELEE, OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE LORAINSTEEL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-TRACK STRUCTURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,091, dated May 26,1903.

Application filed November 13, 1902- Serial No. 131.084. (No model.)

To all witont it may concern;

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. PARMELEE, of Johnstown, in the county ofCambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Railway-Track Structures, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has relation to means of novel character for securing inplace and removing the renewable portions or plates of railway-trackstructures, such as frogs, curve-crosses, girder-crosses, slotstructures,

In these structures those portions thereof which are subject to thegreatest wear in service are now largely (especially in street-railwaywork) made in the form of a plate or block of wear- 2o resistingmaterial. These plates or blocks must necessarily be held in place verysecurely to prevent them from becoming loose under the severe usagewhich they receive in the street,-both from car traffic and miscellaneous street traffic. It is also desirable to secure them removably, sothat they can be replaced should they become worn or defective from anycause, and this without taking up the entire structure and withoutdisturbing the adjacent pavement. This last-named requirement makes theproblem of providing a suitable fastening a somewhat difficult one,since it excludes the use of any fastening means which must be appliedor removed from the side or bottom of the structure.

In an application of even date herewith, Serial No. 131,082, I havedescribed and claimed, broadly, a fastening for plates of the above-described character, consisting of a body of some retaining materialseated in oppositely-located pockets or cavities of the plate and thebody portion of the structure and having integral connecting portionslying between said pockets or cavities and accessible from the surfaceof the structure to permit them to be sheared, cut, or fractured tothereby release the plate, and in another application, Serial No.131,083, also of even date, I have described and claimed means forfacilitatingfracturingorshearingsuchconnecting portions.

My present invention has relation to a similar fastening; and its objectis to provide means whereby a fastening of that character can be readilyand quickly released by cuttinethe connecting portions with a saw.

With this object in view my invention consists in providing in thestructure at the time it is assembled and adjacent to the saidconnecting portions a filling of some material,

such as wood, which when it is desired to remove the plate can bereadily split or dug out, leaving said connecting portions accessible toa saw applied from the surface of the structure.

My invention also consists in the novel construction, arrangement, andcombination of parts, all substantially as hereinafter shown anddescribed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which---Figure 1 is a plan view of a frog or curvecross embodying my invention;Fig. 2, asection on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a section on theline 3 3 of Fig. 1 with the plate removed; Fig. 4, a side view of theplate; Fig. 5, a detail View showing one form of Y filling, and Fig. 6 aperspective View of a modified form of plate.

In the figures the letter A designates the body portion of thestructure, having therein the plate-seating pocket at.

B designates the diverging rail members.

0 is the renewable track-surfaced portion or plate. Formed in the wallsof the pocket at are cavities b, and in the sides of the portion orplate are similar and oppositely-l0- cated cavities 0. These cavitiesare preferably of dovetailed formthat is to say, largest at their innerendfor the purpose of taking up any shrinkage which may occur in theretaining material, as fully described and claimed in my applicationSerial No. 131,083, above referred to. They may, however, be of anysuitable shape.

Surrounding each of the pockets 1) the body portion A is cored backslightly, as shown at d, and this core is preferably extended downthrough said body portion to form a slot or opening d.

D indicates the retaining material which I00 beds the plate and alsofills the pockets 1) and c to thereby form a fastening for the plate.

Before this retaining material is poured about the plate a'filling E isplaced in each of the cores (1 around and below the mouths of thecavities b. This filling may be a thin piece of wood of the form shownin Fig. 5, or it may consist of clay or any other material which can bereadily cut or dug out when desired. These fillings being in place andthe plate seated, the retaining material is poured. The upper edge ofthe filling is preferably somewhat below the surface of the plate, sothat it will be covered by a thin layer of the retaining material. Whenit is desired to remove the plate, this thin layer is chipped OE and thefilling is cut, split, or dug out. This will leave a space surroundingthe connecting portions (1 of the retaining material, and such spaceaffords means for the introduction and operation of a small saw, wherebysaid portion can be quickly severed. .The purpose of the slot or openingd is to permit the saw a longer stroke in operation. When all theconnecting portions (51 have been severed in this manner, the plate canbe readily pried or lifted out of the structure. The pockets at can thenbe prepared for a new plate, the retaining material in the said pocketsbeing removed by chipping, drilling, or melting.

Instead of forming cores din the body portion to seat the fillingsimilar cores g may be formed in the plate, as shown in Fig.- 6.

For the retaining material any suitable substance possessing therequisite relative low fusibility and sufficient hardness and toughnessmay be employed. 1 have found the ordinary commercial spelter to be agood substance for the purpose. For an ordinary frog or curve-cross twoor three of the fastenings at each side of the plate will be sufficient.With a longer plate, as in mates, the number of fastenings should'beincreased proportionally.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the details ofconstruction without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention. Hence I do not wish to be limited to the precise constructionand arrangement which I have herein shown and described.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railway-track structure, the combination of the body portion,the renewable portion or plate seated therein, and the retainingmaterial having portions engaging pockets or cavities in the bodyportion and plate and securing the latter in place, and removablefillings adjacent to said pockets or cavities, and through which theretaining material extends.

2. In a railway-track structure, the combination of the body portion,the renewable portion or plate secured therein, the retaining materialengaging pockets or cavities in said body portion and plate and havingintegral connecting portions, and removable filling material adjacent tosaid connecting portions, and which when removed provide open spaces atthe sides thereof.

.3. In a railway-track structure, the combination of the body portion,the plate, said body portion and plate having opposite pockets orcavities therein, retaining material filling said pockets or cavities,and a filling of wood or other soft material adjacent to the mouths ofsaid pockets or cavities, and which when removed form spaces for theinsertion of a saw or like tool, substantially as described.

4. In a railway-track structure, the combination of the body portion andthe plate having oppositely-located pockets or cavities, and a spacebetween the mouths of the same, a filling of soft material in said spacehaving an opening in line with said mouths, and retaining materialbedding the plate and filling said pockets, substantially as described.

5. In a railway-track structure, the combination of the body portion andthe plate, said body portion and plate having the opposite pockets orcavities, the space between the same, and the slot or opening below thesame, a removable filling in said space, and the retaining materialfilling said pockets or cavities.

6. In a railway-track structure, the combination With the body portion,and a renewable portion or plate seated therein, of bodies of retainingmaterial seated. partly in the plate and partly in the body portion andhaving an integral connection between said plate and body portion, andmeans whereby a saw may be inserted into the structure for the purposeof severing said connections.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE II. PARMELEE.

Witnesses:

LORETTO OCONNELL, H. W. SMITH.

